Borderlands 3 (Gearbox)
Gearbox and 2K Games released a statement Thursday announcing that the Director’s Cut add-on DLC for Borderlands 3 is delayed until April 8. The team cites the severe blizzards and blackouts in Texas as reason for the delay.
Hey Vault Hunters, we have an important update for you. pic.twitter.com/Vqn1VSrDGK
— Borderlands 3 (@Borderlands) March 11, 2021
“Thankfully, all of our team members and their families are safe and healthy, but out work on Director’s Cut was unavoidably disrupted and we’ve ultimately decided to shift the release date to ensure we deliver the best possible experience,” the developer said in their statement.
Players ought to treat developers with the humility afforded to regular people. A product can act as a mask, covering the faces of the people behind it. Responses to the developer’s tweet range from supportive to unusually cruel. Game delays, however, are universally a good thing.
Those slamming Gearbox and 2K for their choice to delay are unwittingly perpetuating one of the most toxic stigmas in game development. Company higher-ups consider negative feedback to a delay and may then choose to release an unfinished game, hoping to fix it in later patches, rather than give developers proper time to make their game. If announcing game delays is read by company investors as a public relations or company image hit, they’ll more likely choose to keep an original release date. Developers, then, are the ones who work 100-hour weeks to keep those unrealistic deadlines and also get the most criticism when a game releases unfinished.
Game developers are the architects of your entertainment. No one’s life is in danger because the Borderlands 3 Director’s Cut is delayed. Game delays are an example of affording humanity to people who often are not afforded it. Inhumanly long hours, toxic corporate structures, and unrealistic expectations have made the life of game developers hard enough. Just chill out and play another game this week.
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